The federal agency assigned to address the health impacts of PCBs in Anniston is considering a large-scale PCB study, to include both research and medical evaluations for residents exposed to PCBs from Anniston's former Monsanto plant.
But the agency isn't asking for proposals. Not yet.
That's because no money is budgeted for such a project in Anniston.
That may be changing.
U.S. Rep. Bob Riley told The Anniston Star Wednesday that he will not let a "bureaucratic process" stand in the way of federal agencies pursuing health projects in Anniston.
Riley said he and EPA Administrator Christine Whitman agreed in a discussion of Anniston PCB woes Wednesday that a health study and clinic are critical for western Anniston.
Which agencies will administer what projects remains an open question, Riley said.
Recently, overlapping authorities and/or money woes have cast a menacing cloud over federal and state PCB health and cleanup investigations.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, EPA's sister agency, which deals primarily with toxic threats to public health, is taking the lead role on health investigations.
But ATSDR will not request any research studies without external funding, said Sherri Berger, acting chief of ATSDR's health investigations branch.
If and when the funding - which could be tens of millions of dollars - is available, ATSDR will consider posting a national Federal Register notice asking for proposals.
The "prospective cohort study" now under consideration at ATSDR could identify, evaluate and track the health of a defined group of PCB-exposed residents for decades, and compare the health outcomes to an unexposed group.
Anniston residents growing impatient
Western Anniston residents carry some of the highest body burdens of PCBs in the world. Monsanto manufactured PCBs at its Anniston plant from 1929 to 1971, and the oily fluids escaped into the air, the water and soil in nearby neighborhoods.
PCBs readily accumulate in animal and human tissue and have been linked to cancer, neurological deficits, thyroid problems and other ailments.
The potential ATSDR-sponsored study is one of several health-related demands from western Anniston community groups, environmentalists and politicians in the last few years that have not been met. City leaders and Alabama congressmen have recently pledged to seek funds for health investigations in the PCB-impacted community.
So far, no government entity has offered a specific plan for a comprehensive PCB study.
Perhaps the most critical health need, as local activist David Baker sees it, is to establish a medical clinic for PCB-exposed residents in the contaminated neighborhoods of western Anniston. Many residents there have low incomes, are uninsured, and are fearful of contracting PCB-linked illnesses.
Baker is president of Community Against Pollution, a western Anniston organization. He and a number of litigants in the ongoing PCB trial have demanded establishment of a clinic repeatedly during public meetings. Baker also testified about the need for a clinic in a Congressional hearing last month in Washington.
Establishing a health clinic is outside the scope of ATSDR's authority, according to ATSDR's assistant administrator, Henry Falk, who testified during the same Congressional hearing.
EPA officials said they faced a similar barrier during recent negotiations with Solutia, Monsanto's spinoff company, which now occupies the former Monsanto plant in Anniston.
Solutia declined to provide funding for a western Anniston clinic during the negotiations with EPA and the Department of Justice over a cleanup/investigation plan, called a consent decree.
Responding to criticism from western Anniston residents about the resulting draft consent decree between Solutia and the federal government, EPA attorneys said they couldn't compel Solutia to provide health funding.
The lack of funding for health services remains one of the activists' biggest criticisms of the draft agreement, which is now lodged for public comment at the U.S. District Court in Birmingham. "If it had been in there, people might not have been so upset," said Shirley Baker, a health educator for Community Against Pollution.
The residents' desire for a health clinic also has been challenged in state court. Attorneys for Solutia are continuing to defend the company in state court against 3,500 litigants' demand for medical monitoring for PCBs and a potential court-mandated cleanup. The company claims PCBs have not harmed anyone.
Despite all the resistance, the prospects for a clinic and health study appear to be improving.
Riley told The Star Wednesday that EPA's Whitman told him she is "fully supportive" of providing those services for Anniston.
ATSDR has made initial contacts with several other federal health agencies to find out what those agencies might be able to do about providing additional medical services in western Anniston, Ms. Berger said.
Meanwhile, the residents are getting more than a little restless.
"Nobody is saying what they are going to do next. It kind of leaves you hanging," said Mrs. Baker. "Somebody's got to bring all of this together."
Joe Turnham, director of the Montgomery-based environmental lobbying group ALALeaves, and a candidate for U.S. senator, agreed with Mrs. Baker that the PCB health concerns are getting a fuzzy response.
"There is a lack of cohesiveness about where we are going," Turnham said, explaining that he feels the burden for securing health programs should lie with both "the government and the culprit."
"It's my belief that at the end of day, we will need a clinic and resources available in the area," Turnham said.
Riley said he would support new legislation, if needed, to obtain funding for both health projects.
For its part, Solutia intends to wait until ATSDR makes specific proposals before weighing in with its own evaluation.
"We need to wait until they recommend some kind of activity," said Dr. Robert Kaley, Solutia's chief of environmental affairs. He said he is not surprised that ATSDR is considering a prospective health cohort study as a research option.
Feds concede health data gaps
ATSDR has now summarized some of the PCB health-related issues that need further work in Anniston, following upon a PCB expert panel discussion in Atlanta in January.
At the January meeting, several panelists disagreed with federal officials who said PCB exposure has all but abated in Anniston.
Dr. John Vena, of the University of New York-Buffalo, called on EPA and ATSDR to conduct a thorough investigation of human PCB exposure patterns in Anniston - he and other panelists asked the agencies to find out how area residents previously came into contact with PCBs and to investigate whether any residents are still inhaling, ingesting, or suffering dermal exposure to, PCBs.
Vena said he thought it was ridiculous to think that people are not still being exposed, due to the massive scale of PCB contamination of waterways, air and soil.
In its follow-up report on the expert panel discussion, provided to The Star earlier this week, ATSDR conceded that major gaps remain in the federal agencies' understanding of the contamination and health problems in the community.
ATSDR noted that "all potential pathways of exposure may never be fully understood in this community," because of chronic data gaps.
A 22-page summary of the expert panel discussion that was provided to The Star delineates each of the major issues identified by the expert scientists and their recommendations for study.
In an appended five-page response to the panel, ATSDR described the panelists' suggestions for potential health studies and investigations as "a basis for continued work in the community of Anniston."
ATSDR agreed with the panelists that:
· Better characterization of human PCB exposures in Anniston is critical. "ATSDR agrees that work in this area should be a top priority and will make appropriate recommendations to EPA." Additionally, ATSDR said that additional blood data from a "representative group of residents" could be used to better understand individual exposure levels among both current and past Anniston residents.
· It would be useful to compile Anniston-specific health data, rather than the available county data, in order to understand disease patterns in the PCB-impacted neighborhoods. ATSDR's Berger said her agency plans to discuss that possibility with the Alabama Department of Public Health.
· Anniston residents should receive "a more comprehensive" education about PCB health issues and federal activities. ATSDR said it may consider providing more information about possible health effects from PCBs to local healthcare providers.
· Coordination of all potential PCB research activities in Anniston should be funneled through one work group, including community residents, academics, and public officials, to "review" proposals. "ATSDR understands and supports
research in this community, however, without secure funding and/or research proposals, it may be premature to initiate a working group of this type."
